Legalization

A medicinal cannabis programme with teething problems

On 9 March 2017, the long-awaited legislation on the use of cannabis as a medicine entered into force in Germany. Now that this legislation has come into effect, doctors in Germany are able to use a simple narcotic prescription to prescribe cannabis buds and products. This article examines the matter in detail. Patients who, until now, have been in possession of an exemption certificate for self-treatment with cannabis buds, must relinquish these within the next two-and-a-half months.

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Georgia Senate Passes Expansion of Limited Medical Marijuana Law

(Reuters) - The Georgia state Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a bill that would expand the state's limited medical marijuana law to include people with 15 medical conditions, up from nine currently.The bill now goes to Governor Nathan Deal to sign into law.Unlike many other U.S. states that have medical marijuana laws that allow smokable and edible forms of cannabis to be used by people who have a wide range of conditions, Georgia only allows cannabis oil and even then, for a limited number of maladies.The state Senate passed the expansion by a 45-6 vote.

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Argentine Congress votes to legalize medical marijuana


Argentina's Senate voted unanimously Wednesday to legalize medical marijuana, joining the lower house and setting the country on course to become the latest to relax its laws on pot.


President Mauricio Macri is all but certain to sign the bill, which garnered an unusual level of cross-party support and was applauded by patients and their families.
A group of mothers with burst into tearful applause in the Senate as lawmakers voted 58-0 to pass the bill.
"This is a dream fulfilled, an immense happiness because it will bring solace to patients," said Maria Laura Alasi, whose

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Early use of marijuana can increase its negative health impacts







A dried flower bud of the Cannabis plant. Credit: Public Domain
With new legislation imminent in Canada, marijuana is a hot topic these days. Those who smoke it may be cheering. Those who've never tried it may be thinking, why not? And those looking to make a business out of it are grappling with how to navigate a challenging product.

But one of the most contentious aspects of legalization is age.

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Canada plans to legalize marijuana by July 2018














The Great White North is about to become even greater next summer.

A senior government official on Monday said that Canadians should be able to legally smoke and use marijuana by July 1, 2018, reports the Associated Press.
Under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the liberal government is set to introduce legislation to legalize marijuana this week, which lawmakers say would put the bill on schedule to go into effect by the estimated date.
The government is expected to follow guidelines set by a marijuana task force that recommends adults should be allowed to carry up to 30 grams of

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Teen pot use has not increased throughout marijuana legalization, survey finds













Opponents of marijuana legalization have long argued that it will only lead to increased use in teens, but a new study has proven that to be wrong.

The latest Washington State Healthy Youth Survey found that the 2016 rate of teen marijuana use has remained steady since the state voted to legalize the substance in 2012, reports the Washington Post.
The state-run survey of 37,000 middle and high school students found no measurable effect on the rate of teen marijuana use, either from the state’s 2012 decision to legalize recreational use, nor the 2014 implementation of retail dispensaries.

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Watch: Chris Hayes explains how he walked into a GOP convention with weed


Chris Hayes may seem like a mild-mannered political commentator, but that hasn’t stopped him from bringing weed into a massive conservative political event.

The MSNBC host on Monday visited “Late Night with Seth Meyers” to discuss his new book, “A Colony in a Nation,” which is partly inspired by the time a Philadelphia police officer caught Hayes with marijuana at the 2000 Republican National Convention.
“We go through one checkpoint, and I think, ‘Oh my goodness, I’ve got $30 worth of weed in an eyeglass case,’” Hayes explains in the interview.

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Dramatic Changes to New Mexico’s MMJ Program Need One Signature



Passed by the New Mexico legislature last Friday, a new bill could make dramatic changes to the state’s medical marijuana law. Allowing for the inclusion of opioid addiction as a qualifying condition for NM’s MMJ program, Gov. Susan Martinez might soon make history with one simple signature.
In addition to adding reciprocity and opioid addiction to the list of qualifying conditions, HB 527 would protect New Mexico’s lawful MMJ participants from interference by Child Protective Services.

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Colorado Home Grow Bill Aims to Eradicate the Black Market



A Colorado House committee voted 11-2 Tuesday in favor of House Bill 17-1220, a bill that would definitively limit Colorado home growers to 12 cannabis plants per residential home in an effort to eradicate Colorado’s black market. Colorado residents and medical marijuana patients would be restricted to growing six mature (flowering) plants and six immature (non-flowering) plants.
The bill was just introduced on March 2 and passed by a House committee just five days later, blindsiding Colorado’s medical marijuana patients and caregivers.

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